Conscious Creativity with Carmen

Creating More Slowly, Intentionally and Honestly

Creativity has always been part of how I move through the world.

It is how I make sense of things, how I notice what others may walk past, and how I return to myself when life becomes too loud.

But even as a creative, I sometimes lose that connection.

Creating can become another task, another deadline.

Another piece of content to post.

Another thing that needs to perform.

This summer, I want to approach creativity differently.

As I travel through Spain and Portugal with my family, I am deepening my creative flow into a movement, Conscious Creativity with Carmen — a series of intentional creative activities, observations and reflections shared through my Carmen Go Creative social spaces.

This is not about producing perfect artwork.

It is not about filling every day with content.

It is about slowing down enough to notice what is already there

Creativity as Attention

For me, creativity is not only about making things.

It begins with attention.

Before the photograph, there is looking.

Before the writing, there is listening.

Before the drawing, there is noticing.

Conscious creativity forces me into a space of pause before I produce and I invite you all to join me.

It asks:

What is here?

What keeps catching my eye?

What is asking to be noticed today?

That might be the blue of a tiled wall.

A hand-painted shop sign.

The shape of washing moving in the wind.

The sound of breakfast being prepared.

A repaired chair.

A collection of shells.

A shadow crossing an old doorway.

None of these moments need to become something impressive.

They only need to be witnessed.

A Portable Creative Practice

I want this practice to feel light enough to carry through a real family summer.

There will be travelling, children, luggage, meals, conversations, tired days and unexpected changes.

I am not creating a residency that requires silence, expensive materials or hours of uninterrupted time.

I am building a type of creative practice that can live inside an ordinary day.

My creative kit will be simple:

A small sketchbook.

A pen.

A pencil.

A few portable materials.

My phone and Dji Osmo camera.

An envelope for paper fragments and found textures.

The places I visit will provide the rest.

Some days I may draw.

Some days I may photograph.

Some days I may collect colours, record sounds, write a sentence or arrange objects on a table. The aim is not to complete a masterpiece.

The aim is to remain connected to the act of creating.

Read more on how I am approaching this.

An Invitation to Create Alongside Me

This series is also an invitation.

You do not need to be an artist.

You do not need expensive supplies.

You do not need to be travelling.

You can begin wherever you are.

On your walk to work, notice one colour that keeps appearing.

At home, photograph the light moving across a room.

Collect three sounds from your morning.

Draw an object without trying to make it accurate.

Write one sentence about something you nearly overlooked.

Creativity does not always arrive as a big idea.

Sometimes it begins as a small act of attention.

The Real Work

The real work of creativity is not always visible.

It is learning how to stay curious.

Learning how to look again.

Learning how to make without needing immediate approval.

Learning how to trust what draws your attention.

Learning how to remain open while the outcome is still unknown.

That is the work I want to explore this summer.

Not simply how to make more content or build more brands, but how to become more present inside the creative process I love so much.

I want to find out what changes when I stop asking, “What should I create?”

And begin asking:

What is already here?

This is Conscious Creativity with Carmen.

An evolving practice.

A creative return.

A way of seeing the world — and myself — with more intention.

Follow the series through Carmen Go Creative on Instagram and TikTok, and create alongside me wherever you are.

Stay creative my lovelies,

Carms x